Sean Mannion\u2019s former colleagues not surprised by his rise<\/a><\/p>\nAnd here are some other nuggets as we clear out the notebook after a busy week in Indianapolis:<\/p>\n
1. The Eagles\u2019 biggest new hire this offseason was the addition of Sean Mannion as the offensive coordinator. But the Eagles brought in some other new coaches as well: Passing game coordinator Josh Grizzard, offensive line coach Chris Kuper and tight ends coach\/run game coordinator Ryan Mahaffey.<\/p>\n
In their search for a new OC, the Eagles cast a wide net. They interviewed 17 candidates and seven of them got second interviews. Grizzard was one of the finalists for that job but the Eagles ended up with him in a different role. The Eagles felt like that was a win. Grizzard was the Bucs\u2019 passing game coordinator in 2024 and did a good enough job to be promoted to OC for 2025. He was fired after just one season but at least has called plays before.<\/p>\n
2. As for Kuper and Mahaffey, Sirianni made sure to point out that he thinks both are good coaches, but it\u2019s clear that it was important for the Eagles to let Mannion bring in some of his own guys. He has a history with both and those two have experience in the scheme Mannion will be implementing in Philly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that’s important that you have some familiarity within,\u201d Sirianni said. \u201cBecause we’ve had great coaches here. We’ve won a lot of games. And so, of course I’m indebted to the guys that aren’t here at this particular time. But I also think, on the other hand, it’s really important that the coordinator be able to bring in some guys that he feels really good about and that he’s worked with, because that’s worked for us in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that’s just growing through the job. I feel like you always are looking at yourself to see what mistakes that you’ve made. And I’m like, well, with a couple of guys, maybe I forced some things on them and that didn’t work. So you go the other way and you adjust and maybe you don’t go all the other way, but you adjust a little bit more where you pick it together. And ultimately, at the end of the day, the coordinator needs that familiarity with people.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. While the Eagles did bring in some new coaches they decided to keep Parks Frazier as their new quarterbacks coach to replace Scot Loeffler after just one year. Frazier spent the 2025 season as the Eagles\u2019 passing game coordinator, a role now held by Grizzard.<\/p>\n
So why did the Eagles move Frazier to QBs? Part of it is to be a translator.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though you’re running a new system,\u201d Sirianni said, \u201cthere’s a lot of things that you have to translate and you have to say, \u2018Hey, do we want to keep these words the same or these words the same for there to be less learning for the players?\u2019 They got to learn a scheme. So how have we done this in the past? He’s a good bridge, I guess, to say within that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to that, Frazier has experience with this style of offense from his year in Miami in 2024 under Mike McDaniel. And Sirianni also said Frazier already has a strong relationship with Jalen Hurts.<\/p>\n
4. The Howie Roseman GM Tree got another branch this offseason when the Falcons hired Ian Cunningham to be their new general manager. Cunningham spent the last four years with the Chicago Bears as their assistant GM after a five-year stint with the Eagles. Cunningham joined the Eagles in 2017 and was the team\u2019s director of player personnel for that final season in 2021.<\/p>\n
I asked Cunningham on Tuesday what he learned most from his time working under Roseman.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s awesome, man,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cHe\u2019s energetic, he\u2019s passionate, he loves ball, he\u2019s always thinking. He\u2019s always thinking outside the box. I really take away the roster building and team construction from him and finding different methods in doing that, whether that\u2019s via free agency, whether that\u2019s via a trade or the draft. It feels like he\u2019s always a couple steps forward. Really trying to pick his brain on how he does those things. But I still don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
5. During the Eagles\u2019 year-end press conference, Sirianni had just finished answering a question about whether or not the next OC would be able to bring in his staff when Roseman interjected. The Eagles\u2019 GM took it upon himself to talk-up Sirianni in that moment. He talked about how Sirianni only cares about winning and is an elite head coach and relationship-builder. He also touted Sirianni\u2019s fundamentals, game management, situational awareness and accountability.<\/p>\n
It was a concerted effort from Roseman to publicly back Sirianni. The GM explained why he did that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I\u2019m kept abreast of what goes on,\u201d Roseman said. \u201c(Senior vice president of communications) Bob (Lange) keeps me posted of what\u2019s going on and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair. I think that to be a head coach in the National Football League for five years and to make the playoffs five years and to be in two Super Bowls is hard. I think that a lot of the strengths that he has are things that people don\u2019t get to see that I get to see every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was important to get that out there. To understand what he does. Because I hear it. [Lange] tells me all the time. It\u2019s like, \u2018If you\u2019re not the offensive coordinator, you\u2019re not the defensive coordinator, you\u2019re not the special teams coordinator, what do you do as the head coach?\u2019 There\u2019s more to being a head coach than just that. I think that these jobs sometimes it\u2019s like it\u2019s the same in my role. Well, is the GM just scouting? It would be fun if we just sat in our office and just watched players all day. That\u2019s not really the job that I have. That\u2019s part of the job, the fun part of the job. It\u2019s the same thing for him. The things that he does are really a huge part of our success. I thought it was important that that was out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
6. There\u2019s another Trotter coming into the NFL this season. Josiah Trotter, the younger brother of Jeremiah Jr. and the son of Jeremiah Sr., is a 6-foot-2, 237-pound linebacker out of Missouri.<\/p>\n
Like his brother, Josiah Trotter played at St. Joseph\u2019s Prep before going off to college, first at West Virginia and then at Missouri. As you might imagine, things were pretty competitive in the Trotter household growing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely an experience with him,\u201d Josiah said this week. \u201cBeing the younger brother, sometimes you get beat up. Sometimes you win games, you lose games with him. But it was fun. I love having him as an older brother. He\u2019s the reason I love playing football. Just watching him, he just means a lot to me. He\u2019s a big factor why I\u2019m the player I am today. Just continuing to help me, checking up on me. A lot of the mistakes he made, I was able to learn from him. I appreciate him, growing up with him in the household, just as an older brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
7. Give credit to Broncos head coach and competition committee member Sean Payton for being honest about the Tush Push, which is no longer under attack this offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the push sneak \u2014 I think if that ever goes away, it\u2019s not a health and safety thing,\u201d Payton said. \u201cWe discussed that last year for two hours and we just adopted a thousand more kick returns. Which play do you think is more of a health risk? A thousand more kick returns. So I think if we choose to ever move on from that, it won\u2019t be because of health and safety. It will just be like, \u2018We don\u2019t like it.\u2019 Which is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
So many of the arguments about the Tush Push last offseason \u2014 especially the health and safety concerns \u2014 were clearly disingenuous. Payton finally cut through all that.<\/p>\n
8. Does Howie Roseman think Cooper DeJean is elite?<\/p>\n
You tell me.<\/p>\n
\u201cElite. Elite player at the nickel position,\u201d Roseman said. \u201cSo when you have someone who\u2019s elite at something and you move him, he could be elite as an outside corner too, but what he\u2019s able to affect the run game, he\u2019s able to affect the pass game, the screen game from there. You just see the difference that he makes in that role. Then when he plays outside, very little separation, he\u2019s got size, speed, unique athletic ability. I joked that he could be an elite receiver. He\u2019d probably be an elite quarterback too. I\u2019ve seen him throw the ball too. Just an elite athlete with elite character and just happy he\u2019s a Philadelphia Eagle.\u201d<\/p>\n
9. While most of the headlines about a potential Eagles trade revolve around A.J. Brown, there\u2019s a chance there is going to be a developing market for backup quarterback Tanner McKee too. The former sixth-round pick has one year left on his rookie contract and the Eagles aren\u2019t going to be eager to give him away.<\/p>\n
But they\u2019ll listen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t speak to what everyone else thinks of our players,\u201d Roseman said. \u201cI know what we think of our players. That\u2019s always been a position that we\u2019ve put a great deal of priority on, to have a backup quarterback that we have a lot of confidence in. We have a lot of confidence in him. Again, I go back to how we started this conversation. My job is to listen to anything about anyone. Whether I pull the trigger is a totally different story.\u201d<\/p>\n
10. When the Eagles drafted Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22 in the 2024 draft, Mitchell became the first Toledo player to ever be selected in the first round. Safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren could follow his lead this year. It meant a lot to McNeil-Warren to see Mitchell get drafted in the first round.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means everything,\u201d McNeil-Warren said. \u201cHe\u2019s our motivation for real. He just pushed us to be great, pushed us to work hard every day and be the best person we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeil-Warren said that he\u2019s in group chats with Mitchell and other defensive backs from Toledo and they talk every day about football and life. McNeil-Warren said Mitchell proved that they can make it out of Toledo and into the NFL. Like Mitchell a few years ago, McNeil-Warren said he didn\u2019t leave Toledo for a bigger program because of his sense of loyalty.<\/p>\n
11. The A.J. Brown trade speculation isn\u2019t going to go away anytime soon. There are plenty of reasons the Patriots could be a potential landing spot for Brown and one of them is Brown\u2019s relationship with head coach Mike Vrabel, who coached him in Tennessee.<\/p>\n
Vrabel this week explained his relationship with Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has meant a lot,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cI\u2019ve watched him grow. I\u2019ve watched him mature. I\u2019m proud of him, proud of the father that he is. I\u2019m proud of the husband. That has nothing to do with where he plays or where he played. Those are the things that are important. We reach out and text each other during the good things that happen to each other. Sometimes things don\u2019t go so well for the people that you\u2019re close with, and you text for those as well. It\u2019s a two-way street of support and reminders of what got us to where we are here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
12. The Eagles will have plenty of decisions to make about the tight end position for 2026. Not only are Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra and Kylen Granson all pending free agents, but the Eagles are also undergoing a significant scheme change.<\/p>\n
The tight end position will likely need to change with it. Roseman ahead of the combine admitted in hindsight that he didn\u2019t build a tight end room that was complementary enough in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tight end position starts with me in evolving,\u201d Roseman said. \u201cI think that, from my perspective, I\u2019ve always had an affinity for the receiving tight ends. I think that\u2019s show in my work. Unfortunately for me, I can\u2019t hide behind anything but the product we put out there, which I\u2019m proud of. I think that\u2019s also something as you evolve as a GM, as an evaluator and you watch what\u2019s out there, you\u2019ve got to be cognizant of the fact that at some levels the game has changed. There\u2019s certainly room for both of those spots. I think when you look at our room this year, probably needed more of a diverse skillset at that position. All good players that we had there but probably could have used that.\u201d<\/p>\n
13. When the Eagles were going through their OC search, they requested to interview Cowboys OC Klayton Adams. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer shut that down pretty quickly when Nick Sirianni gave him a call.<\/p>\n
Schotty\u2019s response: \u201cDon\u2019t bother, buddy. I\u2019m going to have to deny you on that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schottenheimer said Sirianni understood and then they started chatting about their kids. The Eagles still ended up interviewing 17 different candidates before making a hire.<\/p>\n
14. The Eagles will have a first-time play-caller in 2026 after hiring Sean Mannion as their new OC. And the thing about first-time play-callers is that you just never really know how it\u2019s going to go.<\/p>\n
The Eagles had one last year and it didn\u2019t go well. But every great play-caller had to do it for the first time at some point. One of the best we\u2019ve seen in Philly was former OC Shane Steichen, who is entering his fourth season as the Colts\u2019 head coach.<\/p>\n
This week, Steichen was asked about the biggest issues for first-time play-callers and his answer is worth reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s learning your guys,\u201d Steichen said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re a first-time coordinator calling it, if you go into a new situation it\u2019s really learning your personnel is a big part of it and how you want to use those guys. And then from a down-and-distance point, how you\u2019re setting up plays, varying plays, play-action, when to call certain things.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an element and there\u2019s a feel to calling plays as well. You have your list of plays, you have your third downs, you have your red-zone section and sometimes you may be like, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m going to call this here my first time I get in the red zone,\u2019 but all of a sudden they change personnel on defense and it\u2019s like, \u2018Well, I\u2019m not going to call that play here.\u2019 You\u2019ve got to be able to adjust on the fly. Think fast is a big part of it. Once you get in the flow of it and you start to feel it, obviously if guys are good at it and you\u2019ve got good personnel to run it, it could be really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
15. The one thing I really learned in Indianapolis is how well-liked and respected Mannion is around the league. I asked just about every coach I ran into about the Eagles\u2019 new OC. Several of them admitted they have no idea how things are going to work out for Mannion in Philly but I didn\u2019t find one person to say a bad word about him all week \u2014 on or off the record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 It was a busy week inside the Indiana Convention Center for the annual NFL combine. We…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[25,1537,7,6,242,109,2476],"class_list":{"0":"post-782187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-eagles","9":"tag-eagles-news","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-philadelphia","13":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","14":"tag-philadelphiaeagles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116148406055008035","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}